Prior to this invention, remotely-operable connectors have been widely used in the nuclear industry to join pipe sections in plants for handling radioactive materials and other fluids. One such remotely-operable connector is shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings.
The connector of FIG. 1 comprises a pair of female end fittings and a jumper pipe assembly. The female end fittings are welded one to each of the stationary pipe sections to be interconnected. The jumper pipe assembly has a jumper pipe terminating at opposite ends in male end fittings, and the male end fittings are inserted one in each of the female fittings. A connector housing receives each mating pair of the male and female fittings and is rigidly fixed to the female fitting.
A torsionally deflectable seal ring positioned on the male fitting establishes a seal between the mating male and female fittings. Remotely-operable tools are used to install the jumper assembly with other parts of the connector to protect the worker from hazardous radioactive conditions.
One of the problems with the connector of FIG. 1 is that the mating male and female fittings must be aligned accurately with each other in order to achieve a reliable fluid tight seal between the mating parts. If the mating male and female fittings are misaligned (either angularly, offset laterally, or both) in the final assembly, the jumper pipe and/or the pipe section must be deformed to obtain the alignment needed for reliably establishing the seal.
Another problem arises where male end fitting and the connector housing are initially misaligned upon positioning the male fitting in the connector housing. As the misaligned male fitting is selectively clamped or confined in the connector housing, the male fitting will be cammed into alignment with the housing, causing deformation of the jumper pipe and/or the pipeline section which is coupled to the jumper pipe by the mating male and female fittings.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing problems and offers additional advantages as will become apparent from the following summary and detailed description.